


you take the fucking cake.

by Idnis



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Bakery!AU, M/M, aftgexchange, hahah, i replaced exy with baking, it was fun, okay now i imagine them hitting each other with bread instead of racquets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 12:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13658964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idnis/pseuds/Idnis
Summary: In which Kevin takes baking way too seriously, Andrew makes cookies and Neil learns to bake, and to stay.





	you take the fucking cake.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely people!
> 
> WOAH okay so I had to work REALLY hard for the last couple of days to finish this fic.  
> You'd think I'd go for a shorter fic, but nope. So here's another 10k story.
> 
> This is written for the aftgexchange valentine's round! I'm so happy I got to participate.  
> Though I won't be getting sick for the majority of the given time NEXT TIME AROUND. HURR.
> 
> Anyways,  
> enjoy!

Neil grunted as he lifted another crate, before slowly carrying it back to the storeroom. He hadn’t yet developed the necessary muscles for this job.  
All his strength was in his legs.  
All his strength was in running away.  
  
He’d usually left the heavy work to others. If they wanted to put themselves in danger, let them.  
Neil wasn’t planning on dying any time soon.  
  
But he also hadn’t planned on getting caught, and here he was.  
  
In a storeroom.

He had no clue how long he was going to be safe here.  
But he’d wait it out.  
For now.  
  
Neil tensed when he heard footsteps behind him,  
the soft creaking of shoes.

Pretending he hadn’t heard anything, Neil carefully put the crate next to the others.   
It was dark in the small storeroom, and Neil hadn’t been here for long enough to know all of its contents.  
  
The footsteps sounded closer.  
Definitely going after him then.  
  
But Neil wasn’t going to sit around and wait.  
  
He quickly left the small, trapped space and walked back out front, where more crates were waiting for him.  
  
Neil lifted another, grunting because of the weight, _again_ , before making his trip back.

Staying alert,  
moving around,  
not letting anyone catch him off guard.  
  
Back in the storeroom, he put the crate down and listened for a few seconds. No sounds yet, but-  
There they were again.  
Footsteps getting closer, close enough that soon Neil was going to be trapped inside the room if he didn’t get out _now_.  
  
Hands clenching and unclenching in anticipation, Neil walked quickly towards the exit and-   
bumped into Kevin.

‘Watch where you’re going,’ Neil snapped, on edge.  
  
‘I think I’m supposed to say that,’ Kevin said.  
  
‘No, you’re supposed to get out of my way.’  
  
‘I had a question for you.’  
  
‘Something you had to ask here?’ Neil asked, indicating the dark and empty hallway. ‘Must be some question.’  
  
‘It is,’ Kevin said, crossing his arms and staring Neil down, almost threateningly. ‘How much do you love baking?’  
  
Neil blinked in surprise.  
  
Was this guy for real?  
  
✻

‘Getting caught on the job, camera footage showing your face, but seeing as you’re underage, you end up here.’  
  
Neil sighed.  
  
‘What I’d like to know,’ the burly man sitting across from him asked. ‘Is how you got caught when you’re job was to run.’  
  
Neil shrugged.  
Could’ve been a set-up.  
A mole, being sold out, whatever.  
  
He had thought of every possibility, wondering where it had gone wrong.  
Probably by being born his father’s son.  
  
‘Mm,’ the man said, staring him down. Neil tried not to fidget under the honest gaze. ‘Well, it’s not my business. And that’s how it’s going to be here, okay? Nobody is your business, and you’re nobody's business. This store is.’

Neil nodded.  
Hadn’t that always been the way?  
Being nobody.  
That was his business.  
  
‘Good,’ the man said. ‘If you need me, call for Wymack. I mostly work in the office.’ He spread his hands, indicating the room. ‘That’s here.’

‘I noticed.'  
  
‘Well, would you look at that,’ Wymack said. ‘You can talk after all.’  
  
Neil stared back at him.  
Wymack sighed.

‘You’ll get along with Andrew just fine. Now scrawl. Be out of here. I’ve got work to do. Go help those yahoos keep my bakery clean.’

✻

‘Are you serious?’ Neil asked.

‘I’m always serious,’ Kevin replied.

Neil looked at Kevin’s surly face and believed him.

What he _couldn't_ believe,  
were the next words coming out of his mouth. ‘I don’t have any feelings towards baking.'

‘I knew it,’ Kevin hissed. ‘I knew there was something wrong with you.’

‘I thought my business was my own here,’ Neil snapped. ‘Back off.’  
  
Neil heard more footsteps,  
a second before Andrew moved to stand beside Kevin.  
  
It worried Neil that he’d only heard him seconds before.  
That was way too late.  
  
‘Kevin,’ Andrew said, but his eyes were watching Neil. ‘Time.’  
  
Andrew’s stance was casual, almost relaxed, if it wasn’t for tense clenching of his arms, which were dusted with flour. It was all over his shirt too.  
  
‘He said he didn’t like baking,’ Kevin said.  
  
Neil rolled his eyes. ‘I didn’t say that.’

‘It’s too early for your obsessing,’ Andrew said, turning around and bumping his shoulder harshly against Kevin’s shoulder. ‘I’m not going to open up.’  
  
Neil knew he meant the store,  
but Neil also knew he meant  
more.  
  
✻  
  
Having been kicked out of Wymack’s office, Neil walked through the hallway to the shop.  
The bakery.  
  
A tall, serious looking guy was standing behind the counter, typing in all kinds of things on a tablet, while another guy stood waiting, yawning.  
When the latter saw Neil however, he quickly covered his yawn and said, ‘Hi there. You new here?’

‘You work here?’ Neil asked.

‘Not exactly. I just give these guys their ammo. I’m Matt.’

Neil blinked at the word ammo, and had to suppress visions of violence  
and sounds of gunshots.  
It wasn’t easy.

‘Flour, eggs, sugar,’ someone said behind him.  
  
Explained to him, more like it.  
Like Neil had no idea how a bakery worked.

He hadn’t actually.

Gunshots and violence was more everyday than bread to Neil.

Neil turned to see a shorter guy stand in the door opening leading back to the office and kitchen.  
  
‘I know that,’ he said, not entirely succeeding at sounding sincere.  
  
The guy’s stare told Neil he had picked up on it too.  
  
‘Who doesn’t?’ the tall guy asked with a frown. _Kevin_ said his name tag.

Nobody answered him, and the silence that followed was awkward.  
  
Until Matt broke it again with another yawn. ‘Soh- _oh_ -rry,’ he yawned. ‘I’m bad at early mornings.’

‘Why this job?’ Neil asked.

Matt grinned. ‘The perks.’  
  
Neil wondered what those were, before they walked inside, looking confident and ruthless.  
She looked surprised to see Matt.

‘You’re early,’ she commented.

Matt's grin widened. ‘I wanted to be the first to see your face.'  
  
‘Too bad,’ she said, but there was a grin tugging on the corners of her mouth. ‘Renee beat you to it.’

‘One day,’ Matt promised her.  
  
She smiled at him. ‘Maybe.’  
  
She walked past them, but stopped when she noticed Neil. ‘You’re new.' 

He nodded.

‘What’s your name?’

‘Neil,’ he answered.

She held out her hand, and Neil shook it. ‘Dan Wilds. Manager in training. And if you don’t mind, I have to go now. I’m later than I thought. If you have any questions, you can always ask me.’

‘I think I’ll manage cleaning.' 

‘That’s what _he_ said too,’ Dan said, nodding towards Matt who smiled sheepishly back.  
  
‘That’s my cue to leave,’ Matt said, picking up a few of the empty crates at his feet. The short guy moved from behind Neil, helping Matt load the rest back into the truck parked in front of the store.  
  
Now that everyone was gone, the store quiet again, Neil looked at Kevin. 'So what do I have to do?’

‘Wipe down some tables,’ Kevin said. ‘We’ll see if you can manage that.’

It was strange how everyone thought he was incapable of doing the simplest of things.  
Neil resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and instead walked towards the storage room Wymack had pointed out to him earlier.  
  
He’d just picked up the bucket with cleaning supplies when the door behind him  
shut with a _click_.

Neil froze, holding his breath.  
He could hear someone else breathing.  
There was someone else in the room, having locked them both in.  
  
Neil looked around, but he didn’t see anything he could use as a weapon. He grabbed hold of a bucket with both hands and waited.

Silence.  
Only breathing.

Fine.  
Neil would move first.

Quickly turning around, Neil only needed to see the outline, the figure, to know where he needed to swing. Lifting the bucket over his head, he brought it down with all his strength, but the other person slapped his wrists out of the way, painfully, and Neil lost hold of the bucket.  
It clattered to the ground.

Neil immediately moved back,  
but a voice stopped him.  
  
‘Interesting,’ the short guy said.  
  
‘What do you want?’ 

‘Are you here voluntary?’  
  
‘No.'

‘Like I thought.’

‘Then why’d you ask?’ Neil spit back.

In response, the guy only looked at him, brown eyes staring into Neil’s with an emptiness that felt awfully familiar.  
Neil wanted to break their eye contact, but he didn’t want to lose sight of him.

‘What did you do?’ the guy asked.

‘What?’ Neil said, playing dumb.

Judging from the threatening step closer, the guy knew that too.  
  
‘I don’t like to repeat myself.’

‘Be more clear then.' 

‘Are you dangerous?’

Neil wished.  
  
‘Why? Are you scared?’

‘Dangerous for them,’ the guy elaborated.

‘No,’ Neil said, hating the truth.  
  
But running had never brought anyone harm but himself,  
and lying right now was pointless.  
  
‘You’re not lying,’ the guy stated.

‘I’ve been caught. There’s no need to lie anymore.’

‘I wonder. Are you caught? Or are you still running?’

The guy took another step closer, getting into Neil’s personal space.  
Not close enough to touch, but close enough to block out everything else.

Then, the door rattled.

‘What the fuck?’ Wymack’s muffled voice sounded through the walls. ‘Don’t tell me- Andrew? Andrew Minyard, are you fucking in there?’

‘Unfortunate choice of words,’ Andrew said.  
  
Wymack cursed, then rattled the door again. ‘Open this goddamn door, right now, or I swear I’ll make you eat my horrible cookies.’  
  
What?  
Neil looked in confusion at Andrew, wondering what was wrong with the cookies.

Andrew caught Neil’s gaze for a moment, before turning around and unlocking the door.

Wymack all but stormed inside. ‘Neil?’ he said in surprise. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ Neil said.

Wymack looked from him to Andrew, then narrowed his eyes. ‘And there was no fu-’

Andrew’s answer was sharp. ‘No.’

‘Okay, okay.’ Wymack held up his hands as Andrew shouldered past him without another word.  
  
‘Sure you’re not hurt?’ Wymack asked again, like he’d really expected Neil to be hurt.  
  
That was worrying, to say the least.  
  
Instead of replying, Neil picked up the bucket and cleaning supplies and walked out too, moving past Wymack.  
He could feel Wymack watching him, looking him over for wounds most likely, so Neil walked faster.  
  
He was fine.  
Any wounds Wymack would find  
were old ones anyway.  
  
✻  
  
Neil was busy wiping the windows and giving Kevin an evil, soapy moustache on the glass when Nicky’s scooter stopped beside him.  
  
‘Hi Neil! Looking good, looking good. And I don’t mean the windows.’

Neil just gave Nicky a look before continuing his job.  
He didn’t want to half-ass it.  
It had been a week since he’d started here, but Kevin was still checking everything he did.

It was annoying to say the least.

‘Better get inside before Kevin starts yelling,’ Neil said.

‘Right, right.’ But Nicky sounded like he was waving Neil’s words away. ‘Like he doesn’t find something else to yell at instead.’  
  
Still, he followed Neil's advice and quickly entered the bakery.  
Neil watched him wait patiently, while Kevin was busy trying to help all the customers at once.

The bakery was popular. The rush hours were too busy for Neil’s liking.

He sometimes wondered why customers tolerated the long queues,  
but he figured the charming and fake smile Kevin gave them after they paid must be one reason.  
  
Neil wiped the soap off the glass, and worried over his cleaning supplies for longer than necessary, delaying having to go inside.  
  
When he looked up, Kevin was glaring at him and motioning for Neil to come inside.  
Ugh.

‘Go get the deliveries for Nicky!’ Kevin yelled, when he entered the shop.  
  
‘What?’ Neil said.  
  
This hadn’t been one of his tasks so far, and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to going to-

‘They’re in the kitchen.’

The kitchen.  
Right.  
Where Andrew was working.  
  
✻

One of the ovens was open, making the kitchen stifling hot.  
It was like getting in your car after it had been standing in the sun for the entire day.  
  
Neil had to resist gasping for air.

Andrew put a few trays of bread in the oven, before closing the enormous, metal door with a mere push of his elbow.  
He wiped the sweat off his forehead, then moved to check the trays that were cooling down on the counter.  
  
‘What do you want?’ Andrew asked without looking up.

‘Deliveries,’ Neil said. ‘For Nicky.’

He saw Andrew’s eyes flit towards the clock hanging on the wall, before reaching for a crate filled with carton boxes.  
Deliveries.

‘I’ll take them,’ Neil offered.

Andrew didn’t reply.  
He just put the crate in front of Neil and stared him down.

In the week or so that Neil had worked here, after the storeroom lock-in,  
that was all Andrew had been doing.  
Watching Neil warily.  
Like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.  
  
Neil always stared back, trying to-  
To what, exactly?  
Prove something?

It could’ve been the emptiness he’d seen in Andrew’s eyes,  
but that was there every day.  
It could’ve been the intimidating, the threatening.  
Or maybe it was the question

 _Are you still running?_  
  
Not from you at least,  
was Neil’s answer every time he stared back.

✻

‘Neil,’ Dan called. ‘Let’s take a break.’

Neil looked around.  
The bakery was quiet right now, and Kevin was on his lunch break. There was no danger of being yelled at.  
  
He joined her at one of the tables in a corner of the shop.  
  
‘Hey, no fair!’ Nicky yelled from behind the counter.    
  
Dan stuck out her tongue, and pushed a cup of coffee Neil’s way as he sat down. ‘How do you like it here?’ 

‘It’s okay.’

‘I thought it would be more than okay,’ Dan said, hands wrapped around her coffee mug but eyes fixed on Neil. ‘Seeing as it’s not prison.’

‘I don’t see how that’s your business.’  
  
‘I’m training to be manager here, Neil. It’s my job to know. When I take over, I want to continue Wymack’s… system.’

‘The system of harbouring criminals?’

‘Of giving people a second chance.’

The little bell hanging at the door chimed as a customer walked in,  
and Neil took the opportunity to avoid her gaze and watch Nicky chat mindlessly with the customer.  
  
‘It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,’ Dan said. ‘But just know that you can. It must’ve been shit, what you went through.’

Robbing, stealing, framing.  
Running, running, running.  
  
‘It was okay,’ Neil said, gripping his mug with more strength than he should,  
like he was choking the life out of somebody,  
like his father had choked a normal life out of him.  
  
Dan didn’t say anything this time.  
  
‘Uughh,’ Nicky groaned, interrupting the heavy atmosphere. ‘I want to snack. Can I snack, Dan?’

‘You know how Wymack feels about that.’

‘But he doesn’t know how I feel about these muffins. They’re calling me. You know how good Andrew is at baking.’

Dan laughed.  
Neil just took another sip of his coffee.

‘What’s your favourite?’ Nicky asked, waving at all the baked goods. His eyes were on Neil, so the question must’ve been for him, but Neil was drawing up blank.

‘I’ve never had any,’ he answered truthfully.

It was like he’d told Nicky he’d strangled a puppy.  
  
Nicky gaped at him, eyes wide and disbelieving. ‘No way!’ He turned to Dan. ‘He  _has_ to try something!’

Dan was looking at Neil too. ‘You really never tried anything?’

‘Kevin’s behind the counter,’ Neil said. ‘He said I’m a heathen and not allowed there.’

‘Typical,’ Dan said. ‘Well, screw that. Take anything you like.’

‘No, thanks. I’m good.’

‘No, no, no,’ Nicky immediately protested. ‘You’re not _good_. You can’t be good if you’ve never tasted anything Andrew’s made.’

The look in Nicky’s eyes told Neil he wasn’t going to let this go any time soon,  
so with a sigh, Neil stood up and grabbed a plain muffin.

It was ridiculous how intensely Nicky was watching him take a bite, and Neil felt uncomfortable by the scrutiny as he chewed.  
  
_Huh._  
It actually was pretty good.

‘And?!’ Nicky said, hanging over the counter, leaning closer to Neil. ‘And? How is it?’

Neil took another bite, delaying his answer for just a few more moments.  
  
He saw Nicky tense up and wondered why, before swallowing the piece of muffin, and his pride, and admitting, ‘It’s okay.’

‘Then don’t eat it,’ Andrew said behind him. ‘If you’re going to waste it.’

Neil frowned, then turned to Andrew.  
Did he share Kevin’s obsessive tendencies towards baked goods?  
  
‘I’m not wasting it.'

‘Whatever,’ Andrew said, turning his attention to Nicky, who seemed to know what Andrew wanted because he was already digging through his pockets. Nicky pulled out a cigarette, which Andrew took before disappearing through the backdoor.

Neil watched him go.

‘I don’t get it,’ he said after a few moments.

‘Mmm?’ Nicky hummed, a secret smile on his face.

‘Why does he act like he doesn’t care?’  
  
‘Uhh,’ Nicky said, straightening himself. ‘Because he doesn’t care. There’s no acting involved.’  
  
Neil wasn’t so sure.  
  
✻  
  
‘Deliveries, Neil!’ Kevin shouted, like Neil wasn’t currently inside the bakery.   
  
‘One day,’ Neil muttered, walking through the backdoor.

As always, the dark and quiet was a nice change to the bustle of the shop.

Neil took a moment  
to breathe  
before making his way to the kitchen.  
  
In the kitchen, Andrew was kneading dough, muscles bunching up underneath his long-sleeved shirt.

‘Deliveries,’ Neil said, more to announce his presence than to ask Andrew to move. They'd done this a few times already. He knew where the deliveries were.

Yet something made Neil pause, holding the crate in his hands.  
He turned around again.  
  
‘Do you like it?’ he asked.  
  
Andrew stopped working and turned around, looking utterly bored.

Okay, so maybe _like_ was the wrong word here.

Neil changed his question. ‘Why do you work here?’

‘No,’ Andrew said, pointing at Neil. ‘Doesn’t work like that. If you ask, I ask.’

Neil knew suggesting Andrew didn’t _have_ to answer was backtracking,  
was worming his way out of the challenge,  
so he held his mouth and thought about what Andrew was proposing.

He could always lie.

But when Neil watched the blank expression on Andrew’s face,  
for some inexplicable reason, he didn't want to lie.  
  
Curiosity hadn’t been something Neil could afford.  
But neither had freshly baked muffins.  
  
‘Why do you work here?’ Neil asked again.

‘Because Wymack believes in second chances.’

That meant Andrew had also been close to going to jail.  
Like Neil.  
  
Neil nodded, waiting for Andrew’s question.  
But Andrew turned around and continued working.

‘Weren’t you going to ask me something?’ Neil said.

‘Impatient,’ Andrew stated. ‘We have the time.’ He tilted his head and looked at Neil from the corner of his eye. ‘Don’t we?’

 _Are you still running?_  
  
✻

‘I’m asking this in a totally non-creepy way,’ Nicky started his sentence, causing Neil to pause by the bakery’s front door. ‘But where do you live? Also, do you have any plans this Sunday?’

Neil eyed him for a few seconds.  
Saw the genuine interest and even concern in Nicky’s face.  
  
There was no reason to lie.  
He’d been caught, it was game over.  
Yeah. If only Neil could be certain of that.  
  
‘I live close,’ Neil answered vaguely. Not an entire lie. ‘And I don’t.’

‘Great!’ Nicky said. ‘Want to hang out with us? We were planning on watching a movie and baking some delicious things.’

‘Baking?’

‘I mean, we work at a bakery. It’s kinda our theme. But yeah, baking. Kevin’s going to be there so obviously we’ll be trying out something difficult.’

‘I thought Andrew baked,’ Neil pointed out.

Nicky smiled. ‘I never said Kevin’s good at baking.’  
  
Hanging out with Nicky and the rest.  
  
Neil’s first instinct was to say no.  
What was the point of making friends, if this was temporary?  
He just needed to keep working until he’d earned back what he’d stolen.  
  
To his surprise, Andrew’s blank stare popped into his mind.  
Staring him down,  
trying to get Neil to run away.  
  
‘Fine,’ Neil said. ‘I’ll go.’

✻

Nicky’s apartment was not an apartment at all,  
but a _house_.  
It wasn’t too far from the bakery, and looked neat and big.  
  
Neil’s own apartment was a run-down, two room thing that the state had begrudgingly given him so he could work off his punishment.  
It was nothing compared to Nicky’s house.  
  
The usual then.

Neil was always nothing compared to others.

Swallowing away his self-pity, Neil walked to the door and knocked.  
  
✻

Nicky hadn’t been kidding about the baking.  
  
When Neil followed Nicky into the open living room,  
he saw Kevin and Andrew standing in the kitchen, busy working on something involving flour and eggs and milk.  
  
Kevin was shouting instructions at Andrew,  
who seemed to be ignoring everything Kevin said.

Hanging against one of the kitchen counters was Matt, watching the slaughter of Nicky’s kitchen from a safe distance.  
  
‘Hey Neil!’ he said cheerfully when he saw him. ‘Let’s hide in the living room.’

That was probably safer.

Still, Neil couldn’t help but ask Kevin, ‘Don’t you relax in the weekends?’

‘If you have time to talk bullshit, you can help out,’ Kevin retorted, glaring at Neil. ‘We need someone to beat the cream anyway.’

‘Nope!’ Matt said, grabbing Neil’s wrist and pulling him towards the couch. ‘I’m stealing him for a while!’

‘Careful he doesn’t steal anything from you,’ Andrew said.  
  
Neil’s head whipped around.

Andrew was already watching him,  
brown eyes bored,  
like Neil’s reaction was something he'd expected.

How?  
How did he know?  
  
Dan had also known.  
She’d read his file.

Somehow, Andrew had too.

✻  
  
It was hard to concentrate on anything Matt was saying.  
Neil found himself watching Andrew again  
and again,  
wondering why Andrew had stolen his file.

After whatever they’d been baking was put in the oven, Andrew went to the garden to smoke,  
so Neil made up a poor excuse and followed him.  
  
‘You read my file,’ he said by way of greeting.  
  
Andrew was leaning against the wall, looking at nothing in particular as he blew out the cigarette smoke.  
  
‘That’s not how this worked,’ Neil said. ‘You said you would ask.’

‘I didn’t read your file.'

‘Bullshit,’ Neil said angrily. ‘How else would you know?’

Inhale,  
the end of the cigarette burning.  
Exhale,  
white smoke curling in the air.  
  
‘I guessed.’  
  
Neil didn’t really believe him,  
but what use did Andrew have for lying?  
  
He stared angrily at Andrew for a few minutes,  
until Andrew broke the silence.  
  
‘What did you steal?’

‘What didn’t I steal?’ Neil retorted.

Andrew turned towards him.  
Everything about him radiated boredom.  
  
But he had turned, hadn’t he?  
So not entirely bored.  
  
It gave Neil a small thrill,  
and made him do the unthinkable of actually explaining.

‘Mostly money, valuables,’ he said. ‘Sometimes lives.’

There was no visible reaction to his confession.  
Andrew’s face remained blank.

‘You don’t look shocked. Why?’

‘That your next question?’

Neil nodded.

Andrew took another drag of his cigarette,  
then exhaled slowly through his mouth, the smoke curling up, hiding his face for a moment.  
  
‘I’ve killed someone.’

‘You don’t look sorry,’ Neil stated.

Andrew threw his cigarette on the ground and crushed it beneath his feet.  
  
He moved closer to Neil,  
his breath smelling of smoke,  
of crushed out fire as he replied,  
‘Stop. I don’t look anything.’

‘Because you’re hiding something,’ Neil said.

‘Don’t project,’ Andrew said, then pushed past Neil and went back inside.  
  
✻

‘Oh.my.gosh. Smell that! Neil, ohmygosh, _smell_ that,’ Nicky babbled, leaning over the trays with curled things that Kevin explained were cream horns. ‘I can try, right? Can I be the judge of your competition?’

‘It’s not a competition,’ Andrew said.

But Nicky was already digging in, grabbing one of Kevin’s and stuffing his mouth full.  
Matt followed after.  
Even Neil wasn’t impartial to fresh out of the oven pastries, so he took one off of Andrew’s tray and took a bite.  
  
It was even better than the muffin.  
Neil had to suppress the compliment bubbling up his throat.

While Nicky was trying one of Andrew’s now,  
Kevin was tasting their baked goods with a sour expression on his face.

Neil snorted. ‘What’s with that face?’

‘Not good enough,’ Kevin mumbled, alternating bites between his and Andrew’s creations. ‘Why? Why is it not better?’

‘This is amazing,’ Nicky said, reaching for another. ‘You know I love having you guys over, right? You should totally come around every day to bake for me.’

Neil watched as Andrew devoured a second cream horn.   
  
‘Why don’t you try one of Kevin’s?’ he asked him.

Nicky fell silent, and Neil saw Andrew tense for a second.  
  
‘He doesn’t have to!’ Nicky exclaimed, mouth still full of pastry. ‘It’s clear Andrew’s the winner.’

Neil watched Andrew for a sign that Nicky was right.  
That it was sheer confidence.  
  
But Andrew didn’t react again.  
  
‘So, who do you think is the winner?’ Matt asked Neil, bumping shoulders to get his attention.  
  
Oh, he hadn’t even tried Kevin’s yet.  
Neil quickly took a bite, but it was too sweet for his liking.

‘Andrew,’ he said.

‘You know,’ Matt said. ‘I think I expected that.’

Well, Nicky  _had_ been professing his undying love for Andrew’s pastries, loudly.  
  
✻  
  
‘Better not bring that up again,’ Nicky whispered to Neil before he left.  
  
Yet again, Neil was standing near the door,  
only this time, it was Nicky’s front door.  
  
‘Why?’ he asked.

‘Andrew doesn’t eat anything others make.’

‘What? He doesn’t trust it or something?’

It made Andrew’s threatening behaviour all the more extreme.  
Who was after him that made Andrew distrust _everything_ ?  
Even Neil wasn’t that paranoid.

Nicky shrugged a little helplessly. ‘I don’t know. It’s been like that for as long as I can remember.’

Strange.  
  
✻  
  
It had been a long day at the bakery.  
  
Neil tried not to slump against one of the tables as he watched Kevin close up shop.  
Working in the bakery meant waking up early, and even though they didn’t have long workdays, when Neil went to bed,  
his empty,  
empty  
apartment was strange. Felt unsafe.  
  
It took Neil hours to fall asleep.  
  
Which meant it was only a matter of hours before he had to get up again.  
  
Neil slumped against the table,  
his entire body feeling heavy and tired.  
  
‘Neil.’

With a start, Neil opened his eyes again, unaware they’d fallen shut.  
Kevin was standing in front of him.  
  
‘Let’s go,’ Kevin said. ‘I’ll teach you.’

He started towards the backdoor.  
  
‘Teach me what?’ Neil asked,  
but he followed.  
  
✻  
  
Andrew didn’t look up as they entered the kitchen.  
Didn’t mean Neil didn’t find this strange.  
  
‘You’ll teach me baking?’ he asked, not sure what Kevin was thinking. ‘Why?’

‘Don’t you want to try?’ Kevin asked, rolling up his sleeves.

‘Not really.’  
  
Still, Kevin was putting bowls and ingredients on the counter. ‘Have you ever baked?’  
  
Neil wondered if Kevin had a hearing problem.

‘No,’ he said. ‘And I don’t see why I have to learn.’

Kevin frowned at him. ‘You can’t just say no. You’ve never tried.’  
  
There was something about Kevin that made Neil _itch_ to annoy him.  
  
‘Watch me,’ he said, taking a step back, towards the door.  
  
But.

‘Don’t you want a place to belong?’ Andrew asked.  
  
His words seemed to echo through the room,  
which was impossible.  
  
They echoed the loudest through Neil’s mind however,  
causing him to pause in his steps.  
  
How did Andrew always say the right things?  
  
_I’ve killed someone._  
  
Maybe,  
because Andrew understood what it was like.  
  
What it was like to feel like you were made of smoke,  
passing through lives and lips.  
Never solid.  
  
Never staying.

‘Fine,’ Neil said against his instincts. ‘Teach me how to make cream horns.’

‘No way,’ Kevin said. ‘Those are too difficult for you.’  
  
✻  
  
Apparently, cookies weren’t too difficult for Neil.  
  
Neil begged to differ.  
  
He tried to follow Kevin’s instructions the best he could, but it was tough to remember everything at once, or notice when something looked good.  
  
Through it all,  
he felt Andrew’s gaze on his back.

It was a toss-up whether it was a threatening glare, or curiosity.  
Perhaps both.  
  
Neil sure as hell didn’t know how he felt about Andrew.  
  
When the cookies were in the oven, Neil collapsed on the ground.

‘I need to see Wymack,’ Kevin said. ‘You wait here.’  
  
‘What? So the cookies don’t run off?’ Neil said, but he sounded tired, and as soon as Kevin left the kitchen, he closed his eyes.  
  
Because Andrew was still here,  
Neil kept listening for signs of danger.

There weren’t any.  
Only Andrew walking closer.  
Not close enough for Neil to feel threatened however.  
  
Then it was silent again.

Neil’s forbidden curiosity won out,  
and he opened an eye.  
  
Andrew was sitting on the ground to his right, his back against a counter.  
  
‘You don’t have to be here,’ Neil said.

More like _he_ didn’t have to be here.  
This was more Andrew’s place than his.

‘I don’t have to anything,’ Andrew said, then asked, ‘Why’d you agree to work here?’

‘Anything’s better than prison.’

‘No,’ Andrew said, staring at nothing. ‘There are worse things than prison.’  
  
It felt like a truth without having to give up one of his own,  
and Neil shifted uncomfortably.  
  
‘But it is to you,’ Andrew said suddenly, eyes focusing on Neil. ‘Being locked up. No place to run. Right, Neil?’

And there was the payment.

‘I’ve always been running,’ Neil said. ‘This is the longest I’ve stayed anywhere.’

Andrew watched him for a while,  
observing Neil.  
His reactions.

‘Thank you,’ Neil said.

‘Don’t.’

But Neil was going to anyway.  
  
'For letting me stay.’

‘I’m not letting you anything,’ Andrew said, shaking his right hand briefly, like he was trying to shake off Neil.  
  
But Andrew was keeping him from running with his challenging, threatening stare that told Neil he couldn’t.  
  
‘Why do you stay here?’ Neil asked again. ‘Is your sentence that bad?’

Then the oven started beeping, and as if he'd been summoned, Kevin immediately entered the kitchen.  
  
‘Let’s see the damage,’ Kevin muttered.

Neil’d rather not.

But the oven door was opening anyway, the heat blasting in their faces as they peered at the cookies.  
At least they weren’t burnt.  
  
Kevin pulled the tray out.  
Neil reached for one to try, and startled when Andrew slapped away his hand quickly.

‘You’ll get burnt if you touch,’ Andrew said.

Right.

‘I knew that.’

Andrew’s look told Neil he didn’t believe him.

The kitchen door opened again as Nicky walked in. ‘Andrew? Oh, you really were still here. Why?’  
  
Nicky looked at Kevin, then Neil.  
A grin spread on his face.  
  
‘Oh. Hi, Neil.’

‘Hi Nicky,’ Neil said.

‘What’re you doing?’

Neil pointed at the cooling cookies. ‘Baking.’

‘Cookies!' Nicky exclaimed in delight. 'Whose batch is this?'

‘Neil’s,’ Kevin answered.

‘What? I didn’t know you could bake.’

‘I can’t,’ Neil assured him.

‘You don’t know that. Yet,’ Kevin said.

‘Nice to know I get just this one shot,’ Neil replied sarcastically.

‘It’s more than some people,’ Kevin shot back.

Neil rolled his eyes. ‘Really? You’re being this serious about baking cookies?’

‘Sssh,’ Nicky said. ‘You’re souring the cookies with your bickering.’

After two minutes of awkward silence, which Nicky tried to fill with talking mindlessly, Kevin deemed the cookies cool enough to eat.  
Bullshit, according to Neil.  
Kevin hadn’t even touched to feel if they were cool enough.

They were though.  
Ugh.

Everyone took a cookie.  
Everyone except Andrew.

While the sound of Nicky and Kevin chewing filled Neil’s mind, he stared at Andrew, cookie in his hand.

‘You’re not going to try?’ 

‘These are great!’ Nicky said loudly. ‘Good job, Neil.’

‘Don’t encourage him,’ Kevin said. ‘These are barely adequate.’

Andrew didn’t say anything.

‘Why not?’ Neil pressed.

‘Oh, Neil,’ Andrew said, taking a step closer. His breath didn’t smell like smoke, just sweets. ‘You don’t have a big enough truth to get this answer.’

Then he walked out of the sweet-smelling kitchen.  
  
It was worrying how,  
for a second,  
Neil had thought the sweet smell on Andrew’s breath was more inviting than the scent of freshly baked cookies.  
  
He pushed the concern away and tasted his first attempt at baking.

‘This is delicious,’ he told Kevin.

‘I get why Andrew called you a liar,’ Kevin replied.

Neil took a deep breath  
and tried to remember he wasn’t this passionate about cookies.  
  
Didn’t work.

Neil threw the cookie at Kevin’s head.  
  
✻  
  
‘Can I come behind the counter to clean it, or are you going to call me a heathen again?’  
  
Kevin eyed Neil skeptically. ‘No, you can clean it,’ he said eventually.

Neil rolled his eyes, but moved behind the long, wooden counter and started wiping it down.  
His eye fell on all the pastries and cookies that were being displayed in neat rows.

Some of the cupcakes were so brightly decorated, with blue and red and orange icing, that Neil wondered if Andrew had really made these.  
  
It was hard to connect the two anyway, he thought, looking around the bakery with its rustic, brick walls and small wooden tables displaying different kinds of bread and baked goods.  
To his left, underneath a brick arch, was a little nook filled with small, round tables and chairs. A few people were currently sitting there, drinking coffee while tapping away on their laptops.  
  
The bakery felt comfortable, and always smelled of warm bread and cookies.  
It was nice.  
And it didn’t exactly _fit_ with the image Andrew was giving off.  
  
But.  
Neil had always tried to appear as average and washed out as possible,  
to hide the fact that he was the son of a criminal.  
That he _was_ a criminal.  
  
So what did it say about Andrew  
that he looked uncaring,  
unfeeling,  
and unemotional,  
while working at a bakery, making cupcakes with blue and red and orange icing?

Neil had yet to figure it out.

‘Did Andrew really make all of this?’ he asked Kevin, who was rearranging some of the displays.  
  
Kevin turned. ‘Of course. What did you think he was doing in the kitchen the entire day?’

Fair enough.

‘But…’ Neil said. ‘He’s alone in there.’

‘So?’

‘So isn’t that unfair? He’s stocking up the bakery on his own.’

Kevin stared at him like what he’d said didn’t make sense at all.

‘Never mind,’ Neil said, wiping the last crumbs off the counter and moving back to his spot near the tables.

‘Why don’t you join him?’ Kevin asked.  
  
Neil turned around. ‘What?’

‘Work hard, and maybe you can help him out one day.’

But this was supposed to be just temporary.  
Working at the bakery so he wouldn’t end up in prison like his father.  
This was just a break from all the stealing and lying and running, running, running.

This could never be somewhere he stayed,  
could it?  
  
Instead of replying, Neil grabbed a broom and started sweeping the floor.  
  
✻  
  
That night,  
Neil lay awake again, staring into the darkness.

He lifted a hand above his head and spread his fingers.

Could he stay?

His father would never allow him to get out like this.  
  
He also wouldn’t take the news kindly that his son had opted out of prison.  
Punishment shaped a person,  
shaped a _man_ , his father had always said.  
  
And Neil had escaped from it.

Working at the bakery was hardly a punishment.  
In fact,  
it was becoming a life.

Neil clenched his hand into a fist,  
grabbing nothing.  
Grabbing air.  
  
But holding on anyway.  
  
✻  
  
The scrape of a chair against the floor made Neil startle awake, sitting up quickly and flailing his arms in an attempt at self-defense.    
Andrew was sitting on the chair opposite him,  
raising an eyebrow at Neil’s behaviour.  
  
‘Sleeping on the job?’

‘I can’t sleep… there,’ Neil said, looking at the little potted plant on the table.

There were a few drops of water still on its leaves.  
He’d watered them before sitting down at the table to rest his eyes for just a minute.  
  
So much for that minute.

Andrew didn’t say anything.

He was watching Neil again though,  
the same insistent stare that made Neil want-  
  
‘I want to help you,’ is what he said instead.

‘I don’t need help,’ was Andrew’s reply.

‘I knew you’d say that.’ Neil felt the strange urge to smile.  
  
‘Then why talk at all?’  
  
‘I thought maybe you’d surprise me.’

Andrew gave him a look.

‘I’m going to help you in the kitchen,’ Neil said.

‘You can’t bake.’

‘You don’t know that. You didn’t even try my cookies.’

Andrew stood up. ‘I don’t want your cookies.’

Neil took a chance.  
  
‘But you want my attention.’

Andrew paused.  
His blank stare was almost _angry_ ,  
before he broke their eye contact and walked back to the kitchen.

✻  
  
Neil grinded his teeth in irritation, then forced his jaw to relax so he could get the words out.

Meanwhile, Kevin looked at him like he was _enjoying_ this.  
Jerk.

‘Teach me more about… baking,’ Neil said, staring Kevin straight in the eye even if it would kill him.  
  
Kevin crossed his arms and stared him down. ‘You’ve got to be dedicated.’

‘I will.’

‘You’ve got to _want it_.’

‘For fuck’s sake,’ Neil said, throwing his hands in the air. ‘It’s just cookies.’

‘It’s not _just_ cookies. What kind of teacher do you think I am? I will teach you everything.’

‘So that’s a yes?’

‘I’m unconvinced,’ Kevin said. ‘Prove yourself by baking cookies again. Without my help.’

Neil stared at him. ‘Are you serious?’

Kevin looked strangely at him.  
  
‘I’m always serious.’

✻  
  
‘Is it supposed to be like this?’ Neil asked the heavens, as he looked at the drab in his mixing bowl. ‘Or is this what failure looks like?’

Footsteps,  
that Neil heard only when Andrew’s shoulder  
lightly  
touched his.

‘One more minute,’ Andrew said.  
  
Then walked away again.  
  
Neil wished he would’ve stayed one more minute,  
then wished he didn’t wish that.

✻  
  
‘How do people make cookies the same size?’ Neil complained, looking at all the different globs on the tray.  
  
‘They don’t complain,’ Andrew said.  
  
Neil looked over his shoulder to glare at Andrew, who was working on the dough for the next morning.  
Though Andrew didn’t see, Neil felt better.

‘I want to impress Kevin.’

‘Kevin won’t mind different sizes.’

‘Yeah, I think he would with me,’ Neil grumbled, already hearing Kevin complain in his mind. ‘I’ll just make him a fucking flower.’

Grabbing one of the blobs, Neil started kneading and shaping until he thought it resembled maybe a sunflower.  
It only needed some seeds.

Neil started poking the center of the flower,  
until a voice close to him said flatly, ‘What are you doing?’

‘Giving the flower some, uh, texture,’ Neil bullshitted,  
wondering why he felt awkward,  
wondering why he felt more upset with Andrew standing so close  
than with Andrew sneaking up on him again.

Andrew snorted, like he wasn’t impressed.

‘Watch it,’ Neil said. His voice lacked its usual sharpness however, because his heart was pounding so fast. ‘This is going to be the best cookie.’

‘I’m watching,’ Andrew said.   
  
Neil's heart skipped a beat.

Ridiculous.  
  
✻  
  
‘What’s this?’ Kevin asked.

‘A flower,’ Neil answered.

Kevin stared at it for a second. ‘Doesn’t look like one.’

‘Yeah, well, you don’t look like a jerk either,’ Neil mumbled.

‘What?’

‘Aren’t you going to try the cookies?’

Instead of replying, Kevin picked up a cookie, not the flower, and took a bite.  
  
Chew, chew, chew.  
  
Neil had never watched someone chew so intensely.

‘It’s… adequate,’ Kevin finally said.

Neil smiled smugly. ‘That’s good enough, right?’

Kevin nodded, taking another bite of the _adequate_ cookie.  
Liar.

Behind them, Andrew was finishing up his preparations for the next day, putting away all the bowls and roller pins.  
  
Neil had to try.  
  
‘Want to eat the flower?' he asked.

It happened again.

When Andrew turned, he seemed to visibly tense as he looked at the cookies on the tray.  
Yet it was gone as soon as his eyes found Neil’s.

‘I’m not going to take your flower,’ Andrew said.

Kevin snorted.

_Really?_

If Neil was someone who blushed often, he would right now.  
  
As it was, he just turned to glare at Kevin. ‘You don’t have any humor.'  
  
Kevin shrugged. ‘The idea of you and Andrew in a relationship is funny.’  
  
What?  
  
Neil’s mind blanked for a second.  
  
Then all the previous moments came flooding back.  
The lingering looks,  
Andrew’s sweet-smelling breath,  
and his own stuttering heart.  
  
The kitchen door shut with a bang.  
  
Oh no.  
  
✻

‘Hi Neil!’ Nicky said cheerfully that Friday afternoon.  
  
‘Why is the idea of Andrew in a relationship funny?’ Neil asked.

‘Oooookay,’ Nicky said in surprise. ‘Wait. Give my brain a second to catch up.’

Neil waited patiently, ignoring Kevin’s glare that he wasn’t picking up the deliveries.

‘So. Andrew in a relationship. Funny. Right,’ Nicky summarized Neil’s question. ‘I think it’s because Andrew doesn’t feel um. Yeah. That. Doesn’t feel.’

‘Wait. You don’t actually believe that, do you?’ Neil asked.

‘Why shouldn’t I? It’s what Andrew assured me. It’s what I see everyday.’

Because it was what Andrew _wanted_ everyone to see.  
  
Yet he worked his ass off at this bakery.  
  
Neil wasn’t buying it.  
He told Nicky as much.

Nicky shrugged. ‘Hey, if you want to try…’ he trailed off, grinning at Neil.  
  
‘Try what?’ Neil asked.

‘You know. Make a move? On Andrew.’

Oh.

‘I just want to help him out.'

Nicky wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Uhuh. With your mouth, right?’

Neil actually felt his cheeks heat up.  
He glared at Nicky, then angrily stalked towards the kitchen to pick up the deliveries.

Throwing the door open, he startled when he saw two people standing in the kitchen.

Two people who looked like Andrew.

‘What?’ Neil asked, then. ‘Nevermind. I need Nicky gone. Deliveries.’

Both of them looked at him with varying levels of anger and frustration.  
  
It was confusing as to who was Andrew and who was the twin,  
but then one of their gazes lingered longer than the other.

Neil noticed Andrew looked the most bored by this whole ordeal.

‘I’ll ask later,’ Neil said, then picked up the crate and left the kitchen.  
  
✻  
  
‘Twins.’

Andrew didn’t look at him, continuing to move empty crates into the back of the kitchen.  
Neil watched his biceps flex with the exercise and felt ridiculous.  
  
_If you want to try…_  
  
No.  
Definitely not.

‘You never told me you have a brother.’

‘There’s a lot I haven’t told you,’ Andrew said, picking up the last of the crates.

Neil moved to stand in his path. ‘Will you?’

Andrew turned around.

His eyes betrayed nothing of how he was feeling.

 _How_ he was feeling,  
because Neil refused to believe it was nothing all the time.

‘Whatever you’re looking for, you won’t find it with me,’ Andrew said flatly.

‘Why doesn’t he work here?’ Neil asked.

‘He’s training to be a doctor.’

‘Oh,' Neil said. 'That’s… not easy.’

Andrew didn’t respond.  
  
‘He looked angry.’  
  
‘There are things he wants that I don’t,’ Andrew replied vaguely.

‘And what do you want?’

Andrew took a step closer. ‘You’ve asked enough questions.’  
  
It sounded like a threat,  
so Neil stepped aside.  
  
Andrew moved past him,  
but paused at the door.  
  
There was a silence  
and Neil wondered what Andrew was going to say.  
  
He hadn’t expected it to be,  
‘Wymack wants to speak to you.’  
  
✻  
  
Wymack looked up from behind piles and piles of papers when Neil entered his office.  
  
‘Took you long enough,’ Wymack grumbled.

‘Andrew told me just now.’

Wymack sighed. ‘‘Course he did.’  
  
He motioned Neil to sit down.

As he did, Neil had to fight against the urge to fidget.  
  
What if this was the end?  
What if Wymack told him he wasn’t good enough,  
he hadn’t done his best  
and now Neil had to go.

With a start, Neil realized he was actually afraid Wymack was going to send him away.  
  
The bakery wasn’t anywhere close to being Neil’s safe haven,  
but bickering with Kevin, laughing with Matt and Nicky, and having a place to go,  
a place where Andrew was…  
Neil didn’t want to give that up just yet.

‘How’s that place you’re staying at?’ Wymack asked.

Huh?

‘It’s okay,’ Neil lied.

‘Why do I get the feeling you’re lying? Anyway. I got an even better offer for you. Ever noticed the staircase at the end of this hallway?’  
  
Neil nodded.  
Of course he had.  
First day here.

‘It leads to an upper floor with a few rooms. I rent them out now and then, and one is going to be yours.’

Neil was speechless. ‘You don’t have to-’

‘Did it sound like I was asking?’ Wymack grunted. ‘Be grateful you don’t have to get up so early now. Must do wonders for those dark circles under your eyes.’

‘I’m sleeping just fine.’

‘Fantastic. Not what I heard though.’

What?  
Neil stared at Wymack.  
  
‘You can move in this Sunday,’ was Wymack’s final verdict, before he ushered Neil out of his office because he had better things to do than let Neil stare at him.

The surprise must’ve still shown on his face,  
because Nicky immediately asked what was wrong as soon as Neil walked into the bakery.

‘I’m moving here,’ Neil said in a daze.

‘Really? Neil, that’s great! The rooms upstairs are _so_ nice,’ Nicky smiled. ‘You’re lucky.’

Was he?

‘And maybe you’ll _get_ lucky too,’ Nicky grinned. ‘Since you’ll be living so close to Andrew now.’

Andrew.  
It all clicked.

 _Sleeping on the job?_ _  
_ _  
_ And Neil’s answer.  _I can’t sleep… there._  
  
His throat felt strangely tight and closed off.  
  
Uncaring, unfeeling and unemotional.  
And going out of his way to help Neil.  
  
Running, running, and running.  
And having a room of his own.  
  
Neil didn’t know what to say to Nicky,  
his head full of thoughts.  
  
Not only had Wymack not sent him away,  
he’d actually given him a place here.

As long as his father was still in prison,  
Neil thought that maybe it was okay to want  
this.  
  
To stay.  
  
✻

When Neil arrived at the bakery that Sunday with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder, Matt stood waiting for him.  
  
He smiled when he saw Neil. ‘Goodmorning! I was told you’re moving today, right? I thought you might need a hand.’  
  
‘This is all I have,’ Neil said, showing his bag.

Matt looked at it, then back at Neil. ‘You’re joking, right?’

Neil blinked.

‘Oh. Oh, you’re not,’ Matt said in shock. ‘Okay. I’m impressed. Slightly saddened too. How can you manage with so little stuff? Seriously?’ Matt smiled. ‘I _need_ stuff to make me feel like myself.’  
  
Neil shrugged awkwardly.

‘Anyway. I got the key to your room, so let’s go up.’  
  
✻  
  
The room was smaller than his previous apartment, but it had the same rustic brick walls and large windows as the bakery did.  
  
Strangely enough, it made Neil feel safer.  
  
It also gave him the urge to clean, which was disturbing.

A little stove and fridge were already put close to the front door, and a decent sized bed was pushed against the wall with the windows. To his left was a small bathroom.  
  
Neil took a hesitant step inside.  
This was now _his_ place.

Not because he was a criminal and unfortunately needed a space to live,  
but because he was working hard and his employer wanted to give this to him.

The difference didn’t seem like much,  
but it was a lot to Neil.

‘It’s… nice,’ Neil said.  
  
‘Right?’ Matt agreed. ‘And you’re so close to the bakery now! You don’t have to wake up at ungodly hours anymore.’

And Neil didn’t have to lie awake anymore, hopefully.  
  
✻  
  
That night, Neil fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, the exhaustion finally catching up with him.  
  
When he woke up, it was with the sun,  
and Neil felt better than he had in ages.  
  
Until he suddenly heard footsteps.  
Outside.  
Walking past his door.  
  
Immediately on alert, Neil ran towards the door and peered through the keyhole.  
  
Dark blue jeans.  
Black shirt with long sleeves.  
  
Neil opened the door and watched Andrew walk down the stairs.  
  
Right. They lived close now, didn’t they?

‘Thank you,’ Neil said, his voice awkwardly loud in the morning silence.  
  
Andrew paused and turned. ‘What will make you stop saying that?’

Neil smiled,  
his first real smile in years.

‘You probably have to stop being nice to me.’

Andrew’s bored eyes lingered on Neil’s face for a few moments,  
before he continued downstairs.  
  
✻  
  
It was the start of a better routine.  
A routine where Neil slept long hours.  
  
Not always of course.  
  
There were still nights when he woke up from nightmares,  
when his nerves were going haywire,  
screaming at him to move, to _run_ and not look back.  
  
But they were less frequent than before,  
and that was enough.  
  
During the day, Neil cleaned the bakery and picked up deliveries for Nicky, usually twice a day.  
When the bakery closed, he went to the kitchens with Kevin, and made cakes and muffins and cookies.

Neil tried to memorize the recipes Kevin recited, so he could practice and perfect them on his own on Sunday,  
the only time the bakery was closed.

He always bought his own ingredients.  
  
✻

It was another Sunday.  
Neil was busy working on a chocolate cake when the kitchen door suddenly opened.  
  
Feeling busted, Neil whipped around,  
but it was only Andrew.

‘I’m baking,’ Neil said sheepishly.

‘I smelled chocolate,’ Andrew said.

‘It’s a chocolate cake.’ Neil held up his mixing bowl. ‘Or well, it’s going to be one.’

Andrew walked closer and peered inside the bowl.  
  
Neil tried hard to focus on the mixture and not Andrew’s face,  
but he couldn’t help it.

This close, he could observe Andrew’s dark eyelashes, the weirdest thing to notice really,  
the small birthmark close to his right eye,  
and the shape of his lips-

Suddenly, Andrew leaned back.  
He'd caught him staring.  
  
Neil quickly looked at Andrew’s eyes,  
feeling busted for the second time in ten minutes.  
  
‘One more minute,’ was all Andrew said.  
  
But his gaze was heavier than normal,  
and Neil swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat.  
  
‘Okay,’ he replied.

✻

They were sitting on the floor, backs against the counter and shoulders nearly touching,  
watching the cake rise in the oven.  
It was a slow process.  
  
‘You’re not going to eat it,’ Neil guessed.  
  
‘I’m not,’ Andrew agreed.  
  
Neil knew it was a long shot, but he still tried. ‘Why not? Is it a phobia?’  
  
When Andrew didn’t respond, Neil turned to look at him.  
  
Andrew was staring at the cake in the oven, almost unblinking.  
Almost uncaring.  
But his left hand was clenched into a fist.  
  
‘It’s not a phobia,’ Andrew finally said. Then. ‘Why stealing?’

‘My father,’ Neil answered,  
snippets of his childhood flashing through his mind.  
  
They could all be summed up as running,  
running,  
running.  
  
‘He forced you?’

‘And others. He does business with all kinds of people. When they don’t pay him back, he steals it back.’  
  
‘Not him. You.’

Neil let his head fall back against the wood. ‘Yeah.’

‘Your mother?’ Andrew asked.

It surprised Neil how much it hurt to remember.  
  
He closed his eyes for a second, but that just made it worse,  
so Neil forced them open again.

‘She’s the reason I stopped trying to run away,’ he eventually managed. ‘I know I can’t escape him again.’  
  
For a moment,  
the quiet hum of the oven was all that sounded through the kitchen.

Then Andrew said,  
‘You live here.’  
  
It sounded wrong,  
because all his life Neil had merely survived.  
It sounded right,  
because he didn’t want to leave.  
  
‘I want to stay here,’ Neil whispered. ‘I don’t want to leave.’

 _Ping_ said the oven.  
Time was up.

Andrew moved to his feet to shut it off,  
then looked down at Neil.  
Again, there was no emotion in his gaze,  
but there was also no pity for Neil’s background.  
  
Andrew just saw him for who he was.  
  
‘Then don’t,’ Andrew said.

Neil’s heart stuttered.  
Before he could start staring, Neil pushed himself to his feet. 

‘Will you let me help you in the kitchen?’

Instead of replying, Andrew opened the oven door and pulled out the cake.  
It _smelled_ amazing  
and when Neil cut a slice for himself, he could say it also _tasted_ amazing.  
  
He had put less sugar in than normal, and the sweetness was just perfect.  
  
‘I thought I didn’t like sweets,’ he said, almost to himself. ‘But this is delicious.’

Taking another bite, Neil smiled smugly. He wasn’t bad at baking like Kevin always complained he was-

‘Can I taste?’

Neil froze mid-chew.  
  
Turning, he saw Andrew was watching  
his mouth,  
and not the cake.

Neil swallowed.  
  
‘Yeah,’ he said.

With two steps, because they hadn’t been standing far apart,  
Andrew moved close enough for Neil to hear his small intake of breath,  
before Andrew leaned in  
and pressed his lips against Neil’s.

Neil didn’t move,  
eyes shut tight.  
  
Andrew didn’t either.

It was like the moment their lips had touched,  
they were frozen in time.  
  
Like they’d taken a photograph in their minds,  
memorizing the exact feel of each other’s lips.  
  
Then, Neil got impatient.

Just barely,  
he pressed back.

It was the moment Andrew started moving too,  
sliding their lips together softly.  
  
Neil felt Andrew’s tongue swipe against his bottom lip,  
tasting,  
so Neil opened his mouth to deepen their kiss.  
  
But the moment their tongues touched,  
Andrew pulled back.

His eyes were wide as he stared at Neil.

‘No,’ he said, pushing Neil back. ‘Don’t.’

‘Did I do something wrong?’ Neil asked, concerned, still dazed from their kiss.

But Andrew wasn’t really here anymore, looking at anything but Neil as he started walking backwards.  
  
‘Andrew?’ Neil tried. ‘I’m sorry for whatever I did wrong.’

No response.  
  
But before Andrew turned around,  
their eyes locked one more time.  
  
Andrew’s eyes were anything but unfeeling,  
uncaring  
or unemotional.

Then  
Andrew left the kitchen.

✻  
  
It was raining.  
  
Every customer who entered the bakery looked like a wet mess.  
Neil shivered as he watched people run by, their umbrellas turning inside out from the harsh wind.  
  
He felt really sorry for Nicky, who ran inside the bakery for the second batch of deliveries with his hair plastered against his forehead.  
  
‘Save me, Neil,’ Nicky whined. ‘I don’t want to do deliveries anymore.’

Yeah, Neil could understand that.

‘Can’t we make Kevin go?’ Nicky complained.

‘I don’t think this weather is going to help with his attitude,’ Neil said.

‘Ugh, no, you’re right… Fine. Give me the deliveries. I’ll sacrifice myself for the greater good. But you all better remember me.’

Nicky’s sense of drama almost Neil made smile before he walked back to the kitchen.

‘Deliveries,’ he announced his presence to Andrew.  
  
Andrew didn’t react.  
Hadn’t for the last couple of days.  
Neil had tried to leave him alone, but he was getting frustrated with this behaviour.

‘Look,’ he said, crossing his arms. ‘Can’t you just tell me what I did wrong? I can’t improve or change anything if you don’t tell me.’  
  
Instead of replying, Andrew moved to the crate with deliveries, picking it up and carrying it to Neil.  
He pushed it in Neil’s arms, who instinctively grabbed it.  
  
‘You can’t change this,’ Andrew said.

‘What’s this?’

‘Nothing.’  
  
‘Bullshit. You wanted to kiss me, and then you didn’t.’

Andrew gave the crate a push,  
causing Neil to stumble back, his back hitting the door.

‘You want too much,’ Andrew said flatly.

‘What?’ Neil asked. ‘You think I can’t control myself? I’m not going to jump you. If you don't want-’

‘That’s not it.’ Andrew tilted his head to the side. His dark brown eyes looked emotionless. ‘I still want to blow you.’

Neil’s grip on the crate loosened.  
If Andrew hadn’t held onto it, it would’ve fallen to the ground.  
  
‘What?’ he asked weakly.

Andrew only looked at him.

But there was nothing  
only  
about it.

Andrew’s gaze was heavy again,  
heavier than the crate Neil was holding,  
and it made Neil want to throw the thing aside.  
  
Andrew must’ve noticed, because his grip tightened for a second before he pulled the crate out of Neil’s hands and nearly threw it on a counter.  
Then he was back in front of Neil,  
hands on either side of Neil’s head.

‘ _Can_ you control yourself?’ 

‘Yes,’ Neil answered immediately.

Wasting no time, Andrew leaned closer  
and lightly brushed his lips against Neil’s,  
his breath hotter than the room’s temperature.  
  
Neil’s heart was pounding fast.  
It felt ridiculous and dangerous how much he wanted this.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly.  
The movement caused their lips to touch briefly, and Neil jerked at the contact.  
  
His body was thrumming with energy and anticipation-

And then the kitchen door wrenched open, and Neil fell backwards, while Nicky exclaimed, ‘What’s taking so lon- oh.’

Nicky looked at Neil on the ground,  
then at Andrew in front of him.

‘Ooooooh,’ Nicky said.

‘No,’ Andrew said.

‘Oooooooh,’ Nicky said again, grinning.

‘Nicky,’ Neil warned.

‘Oooooookay then. I’ll ask about this later. But I really need those deliveries right now. You know how Kevin gets, all glaring and frowning and turning purple. _S_ _o_ unattractive.’

‘I think Kevin in general is unattractive,’ Neil grunted.  
  
‘You don’t,’ Nicky gasped. ‘Oh, wait.’ He started grinning again. ‘I think I know your tastes.’

‘You have three seconds,’ Andrew said simply. ‘One.’

Neil hadn’t even pushed himself off the ground before Nicky was running,  
forgetting to take the deliveries with him.  
  
Neil moved to his feet.  
  
‘Are you also running?’ he asked, while Andrew walked back to the cooling cupcakes on the counter.  
  
For a few silent moments, Neil worried he had his answer,  
but then Andrew said, ‘I don’t run.’

‘Yeah,’ Neil said. ‘Neither will I.’

✻  
  
Kevin’s face was impassive as he took another slice of cheesecake.

Another slice.  
Come on.  
That meant it had to be good.

‘So?’ Neil asked, impatient.

Kevin continued chewing like a 90 year old.  
A 90 year old who could still taste shit.

Or maybe he couldn’t.  
Maybe that was why he took so long to say whether the cake was good or not.  
  
Neil ground his teeth in irritation. ‘You already ate one slice. You should know if it’s good,’ he snapped.

The kitchen door opened.

‘Neil?’ Wymack said, peering around the corner. ‘Thought I heard your voice. What’re you doing here?’

‘Entertaining Kevin,’ Neil answered without missing a beat.

Kevin glared at him, then turned to Wymack. ‘I’m teaching him how to bake.’

‘Seriously?’ Wymack inched closer. ‘Hey, is that a cheesecake?’

Neil nodded.

‘Mind if I…?’  
  
‘No,’ Neil said. ‘Maybe you’ll actually enjoy it.’  
  
Ignoring Kevin’s glare, Wymack cut a slice for himself.  
He groaned after the first bite.

‘Damn, this is really good.’

The smugness in Neil’s eyes couldn’t be stopped.  
Kevin’s glare intensified.  
  
‘Don’t compliment him too much. He still has a lot to learn.’

‘You say that, but he can make a good fucking cheesecake. You gotta give him that.’ Wymack took another large bite. ‘If you can bake like this, you can help out in the kitchen.’

Neil’s heart leapt inside his chest.

‘That’s what I want,’ he said quickly.

‘Really?’ Wymack said, watching Neil for a moment. ‘Okay. Gotta check if Andrew’s alright with it, but I suppose you can help when it’s quiet.’

Neil looked at him in surprise.  
He hadn’t expected it to be this easy.

‘But- This. I’m a criminal,’ he said.

‘So what? This cheesecake’s really good. You know what would be criminal? Not selling this to customers.’

Neil blinked.

‘It’s not _that_ good,’ Kevin said.

But Wymack smiled as he cut another slice of cheesecake. ‘For on the go.’  
  
✻  
  
Andrew approved,  
and so Neil went into the kitchen after Kevin had reluctantly gave him the okay.  
  
Andrew didn’t look up when Neil entered,  
but immediately said Neil had to get eggs from the freezer.  
  
There was no awkwardness or tension as they worked together,  
occasionally exchanging words when Andrew wanted something, or when Neil didn’t know where or what or how.

Before he knew it, Kevin was already walking into the kitchen to start Neil’s training.  
  
✻  
  
It was a Wednesday when Andrew’s brother walked into the kitchen unannounced.

Neil saw Andrew tense for a millisecond when his brother called out, ‘Andrew.’  
  
Just that.  
His name.  
  
Obviously, he wasn’t here to catch up.  
  
Turning around, Neil found Andrew’s brother already staring at him with a look that said  
_leave_ .  
  
Unsure of what to do, Neil turned towards Andrew.  
  
‘Andrew?’ 

It shouldn’t mean so much  
that Andrew’s gaze said  
_stay_ .  
  
‘Outside,’ Andrew told his brother.  
  
Which wasn’t good enough apparently, because Andrew’s brother asked, ‘Who's this?’

‘I’m Neil,’ Neil said immediately. ‘You are...?’

‘Aaron.’

That was all the conversation Andrew allowed before he stalked out of the kitchen.  
Aaron followed immediately.

✻  
  
When Andrew returned, there was something different about him.  
  
Trying not to stare too obviously, Neil watched Andrew kneading the dough for cookies. Though kneading wasn’t exactly the right word.

Andrew was throwing and punching the dough with an aggression that made Neil believe the threats.  
The murder.

Neil decided that maybe  
he shouldn’t ask right now.  
  
✻

The next day,  
the strangest thing happened.

While Neil was wiping down a table after a customer had angrily left, probably after reading a stupid email or something,  
he heard another customer complaining to Kevin in a loud voice.  
  
Kevin tried to remain calm and friendly, but Neil saw his smile wavering as the customer’s complaints got louder and louder.  
  
✻  
  
It happened again later.  
Though it was a child, the little boy started throwing a temper tantrum that had Kevin awkwardly asking the mother if they could perhaps leave the bakery.  
  
The mother had been extremely offended, walking away without another word.  
  
✻

Neil watched on in confusion as all throughout the day,  
people got angry at Kevin and him.  
  
Neil was standing in the way,  
the table wasn’t clean enough,  
Kevin wasn’t fast enough.

Half the time, the complaints weren’t even justified.  
  
‘What the hell’s happening?’ he whispered to Kevin as the bakery was finally quiet again.

‘I don’t know,’ Kevin said, but there was a weird strain in his voice.  
  
Neil blinked in surprise. ‘You’re lying,’ he stated.

Kevin’s neck turned red. ‘I’m not.’  
  
‘You’re lying,’ Neil repeated. ‘You _do_ know.’

‘Not entirely,’ Kevin admitted. ‘All I know is that sometimes after Aaron visits, people get angry.’

That didn’t make any sense.

‘What?’

‘After Aaron visits-’

‘Yeah, I heard what you said. What do you mean? Aaron instigates fights?’

‘No,’ Kevin frowned. ‘I think it’s Andrew.’

That was even more unlikely.

‘He’s not even in the shop.'

Kevin shrugged. ‘I don’t know either. But it happens.’  
  
‘It doesn’t make sense.’

‘Andrew doesn’t make sense.’

Neil glared at Kevin. ‘People aren’t supposed to make sense. They’re supposed to be complex and difficult and different, unlike you, whose brain cells consist of flour and eggs.’

Kevin frowned. ‘That wouldn’t make anything.’

Neil walked away.

✻  
  
‘Why are people angry?’ Neil asked as he walked into the kitchen.

‘Because the world is unfair,’ Andrew answered, putting yellow icing on cupcakes.

Neil stopped. ‘I guess,’ he said. ‘But why does Kevin think it’s your fault that people are yelling at him? And me.’

Andrew’s hands froze.

‘Kevin says it’s happening _again._ It doesn’t make any sense.’

Andrew still didn’t respond.  
  
Neil waited patiently for a few minutes.  
Then he started to worry.

‘Was Kevin right?’ 

Finally, Andrew moved again, carefully finishing the cupcake before moving onto the next. His movements were tense however.  
  
‘Eat a cookie,’  Andrew said.

‘What?’ Neil said. Was this the new version of fuck you?  
  
But Andrew continued working, ignoring Neil, who was beginning to feel like Kevin and Andrew were joking with him.

‘Fine,’ he said, when he didn’t get an explanation. ‘I’ll eat your cookies.’

 _Though you won’t eat mine_ , his mind added immaturely.

✻

‘You can’t eat-’

Neil had already put the cookie in his mouth.

At first, nothing happened.

But after the first few bites, Neil felt his blood begin to boil.  
He began to notice Kevin’s fake smile next to him as he helped another customer and suddenly,  
it _irritated_ the fuck out of Neil.

‘Stop being so fake,’ he snapped, startling both Kevin and the customer.

Kevin turned to him with wide eyes,  
and Neil felt so angry that the answer was such a fucking stupid sentence to say out loud.

‘It’s the fucking cookies,’ he said through gritted teeth.  
  
✻

The smell of chocolate cake.  
The heat of the oven.  
The heat of Andrew’s gaze when he turned around as Neil walked in.

Neil was later than usual.  
  
Normally, he’d visit as soon as the bakery closed, but since Kevin had not believed him about the cookies and had also eaten one,  
it had resulted in _both_ of them snapping at each other for half an hour.  
  
Neil had waited until he didn’t feel like murdering everyone around him.  
  
The heat of Andrew’s gaze was unexpected,  
and Neil paused,  
words dying in his throat.

Yet Andrew didn’t move closer  
or say anything.  
  
So Neil cleared his throat. ‘I never would’ve guessed you work at the bakery because you want to cause chaos with magical cookies.’

‘That’s not why,’ Andrew said.

‘You’re not denying the magic.’

Andrew tilted his head. ‘Not everyone lies, Neil.’  
  
Again, not a denial.  
So the cookies actually were magical.  
  
‘Is it only anger?’ Neil asked, then immediately thought about Kevin’s observation.  
  
_After Aaron visits._  
  
‘No,’ Neil corrected himself. ‘It’s because Aaron makes you angry. So you transfer your anger into your baking?’ he guessed.

Andrew only stared at him.

‘Can you do more?’

‘You want to know what I can do,’ Andrew said slowly, observing Neil.  
  
‘What do you want in return?’ Neil asked.

Andrew moved closer. ‘I want a promise.’

Neil’s breath caught in his throat when Andrew was close enough that Neil could  
touch  
if he reached out.

‘Anything,’ Neil told Andrew, who’d dared him to run every time their eyes met.

Andrew, who was offering up the truth that had been too big for Neil to know.  
  
Neil wondered what had changed.

Andrew reached out,  
fingers stopping inches from Neil’s lips.

‘Emotions,’ Andrew started. ‘Transfer into what I bake.’

But normally, Andrew’s baking didn’t taste like anything apart from its usual flavours.  
Oh.  
The emotionless state Andrew was always in made a little more sense now.  
Part of it anyway.

‘Emotions,’ Andrew repeated, saying the word like it was something vile. ‘I can taste them.’

Neil blinked in surprise.  
  
Taste emotions?

But it made sense.

Nicky’s voice,  
his warning.

_Andrew doesn’t eat anything others make._

Neil breathed out.  
Okay.  
  
‘Okay,’ he said out loud.

Andrew’s gaze flickered to Neil’s lips,  
fingers still hovering over them,  
so close to touching.  
  
Neil wanted to close the distance,  
so badly,  
but he stayed still.

Then Andrew dropped his hand.  
Took a step back.  
And another.

‘What about the promise?’ Neil asked.

‘Don’t break it,’ was all Andrew said.  
  
✻  
  
‘These are… fine,’ Kevin allowed.

Neil grinned. ‘Do you hear that, Andrew? My cupcakes are fine.’  
  
Neil turned to find Andrew staring at nothing in particular,  
feigning disinterest most likely,  
because even Neil thought the cupcakes smelled amazing.  
  
‘Sure you don’t want to taste them?’ he tried.

Dragging his stare to Neil,  
Andrew looked like he was already tired of this conversation.

For some reason,  
Neil wanted to see  _something_ there, in his eyes.  
  
Okay, he knew perfectly well what he wanted to see when he said innocently, ‘You can taste them one way or the other.’

It gave Neil a thrill when Andrew’s gaze darkened.  
  
He didn’t have to imagine what Andrew’s opinion was on the matter.

‘I wouldn’t make an exception for these,’ Kevin commented, not reading the fucking atmosphere in the room.  
  
‘That’s smart,’ Andrew said.

✻  
  
It took Kevin forever to leave.  
  
Neil wanted to shove another cupcake in his mouth, just to shut him up, but of course that would just start another round of "critiquing Neil’s baking" so he stayed silent, fidgeting on the spot, and staring at Andrew.  
  
From the way Andrew avoided his gaze,  
Neil worried he might be too obvious about what he wanted.  
  
Wasn’t like Andrew had been subtle about his intimidation either.  
  
After Kevin had  _finally_ said goodbye to them, Andrew locked the kitchen door.  
  
Neil heard Kevin’s retreating footsteps,  
heard the front door open and close,  
and then he was being pushed back against the wall, Andrew closing in on him.

‘Kissing. Yes or no?’

‘I thought I was being clear,’ Neil murmured.

‘You were,’ Andrew said. ‘Now give me verbal consent.’

‘Yes,’ Neil said, pulling Andrew closer.

Immediately, Andrew grabbed hold of his wrists and guided his hands to his neck and hair.  
  
Their lips touched,  
and Neil swore he could feel his knees _buckle_ with relief and wanting and need.  
  
Andrew wasn’t careful like the last time they had kissed.  
  
No, Andrew kissed Neil like he had every intention of blowing Neil’s mind,  
blowing out all thoughts of running, running, running  
until there was only  
Andrew  
and staying  
and keep this promise.  
  
And Neil kissed him back.  
  
For all the lies his mouth had told,  
kissing Andrew like this was the truest thing Neil had ever said.

This time, when he opened his mouth,  
Andrew didn’t hesitate or pull back.

If anything, he seemed to move even closer,   
though their bodies never really touched.

It could’ve been forever,  
it could’ve been a second when Andrew pulled back.  
  
Neil slowly opened his eyes. He leaned in again, placing a kiss on Andrew’s jaw, kissing  
down  
his neck.  
  
Andrew shivered.

‘Will you ever taste anything of me?’ Neil asked.

Andrew’s answer was to push Neil back against the wall,  
unbuckle his belt,  
and sink to the floor.  
  
✻  
  
‘Thank you very much,’ the old lady said for the fifth time to Kevin, who had merely given her her bread and change.  
  
‘You are so very welcome,’ Kevin responded, also for the fifth time, his smile finally wavering a little.

The old lady giggled, a blush on her wrinkly cheeks. ‘Aren’t you just handsome.'  
  
Neil coughed to hide his laughter, and heard Nicky behind him nearly choking.

‘Thank you,’ Kevin said, voice strained.

When the lady finally left, after giving Kevin a saucy wink, Neil said casually, ‘You know, she asked me your number a little while ago.’

‘She _what_?’

‘Oh,’ Neil said in surprise. ‘Shouldn’t I have given it to her?’  
  
Kevin looked so ready to strangle him  
that Neil lost his composure and laughed.  
  
Kevin looked left and right to make sure no one apart from Nicky was watching, before throwing a muffin at Neil’s face.

‘Wasteful!’ Neil yelled as he dodged it.

‘Three second rule,’ Nicky exclaimed, diving to the ground and emerging victorious. ‘Never waste Andrew’s muffins.’  
  
He made a face as he brushed off the muffin. ‘You know what. I take that sentence back. Don’t ever remind me I said that, ever again.’  
  
✻  
  
‘So, um. You work here often?’  
  
‘Yes,’ Kevin answered politely. ‘Every day.’

‘Oh, really?’ the guy asked, leaning over the counter. Kevin slowly leaned back. ‘You know,’ the guy said, almost breathless. ‘You’re really handsome.’  
  
‘Again?’ Nicky sighed. ‘Man, Kevin gets all the ages.’

Neil raised an eyebrow as he watched the guy fumble for a pen so he could write down his number.  
  
✻  
  
‘Sorry,’ Neil mumbled to a customer as he swept the floor near their table.

‘Oh, no probl-’ the customer paused, and Neil looked up to see what was wrong.  
  
He was met with two large blue eyes who were staring at him in awe.

‘No problem,’ the customer breathed. ‘Gosh, you’re cute. I really want to kiss you.’

Neil blinked. ‘Sorry?’ he said again, taking a careful step backwards.

‘Oh, sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I think- Wow. Can we exchange numbers?’

Neil got the feeling something was wrong.

‘No, sorry,’ he quickly apologised, then rushed to the front of the bakery.

 _Try now!_ the sign said. _Fresh brownies.  
_  
Oh.  
_Oh_.  
Yesterday.  
Andrew had made-

The warm, gushy feeling in Neil’s chest was unexpected,  
and kind of nice.  
  
Neil smiled.  
He couldn’t help it.  
  
✻  
  
‘Have you heard?’ he asked Andrew, who was whisking dry ingredients in a bowl. Neil leaned against the counter. ‘People are professing their attraction to Kevin and me.’

Andrew froze.

‘I think they really like your brownies,’ Neil continued.

Andrew didn’t meet his eyes.  
  
Neil bit his lip to keep himself from smiling. ‘You like me.'

‘I don’t,’ Andrew replied immediately.

‘I wonder what would happen if I kissed you right now? What would people do tomorrow?’

‘Kill each other,’ Andrew said.

‘I’m not sure.’  
  
‘Sounds like your problem.’

‘Am I?’ Neil asked. ‘Am I your problem?’

Andrew turned to look at him,  
gaze not entirely unfeeling, uncaring or unemotional.  
  
Instead,  
there was a lot of irritation, frustration, and some exasperation.

‘Yes,’ Andrew said finally.

Neil smiled, meeting Andrew’s stare head-on.

No running, running, running,  
but staying.  
Keeping his promise.  
And magical cookies.

Okay, so maybe Kevin did have a point when he said,  
‘ _It’s not_ just _cookies._ ’  
  
✻

**Author's Note:**

> y'know I was overjoyed when I read the prompts "magic!au, bakery!au" because I love my food metaphors to death and then I just don't put any in???  
> BUT  
> I did give Kevin a happy life where the worst that happens to him is his souffles not rising enough so.
> 
> I hope you liked what I did with your prompt, Vin! :) 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! <3  
> I hope this was at all fun to read :o
> 
> EDIT: look at this [GORGEOUS art](http://cats-are-assholes.tumblr.com/post/171672575924/bakery-au-by-idnis-its-fucking-great-check-it) based on the fic!!!


End file.
